Perelman's Pocket Cyclopedia of Cigars
Encyclopedia
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n Cigar
Cigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
s (see: Cuban Embargo
United States embargo against Cuba
The United States embargo against Cuba is a commercial, economic, and financial embargo partially imposed on Cuba in October 1960...
)), including specifications and information regarding each cigar
Cigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
, as well as basic cigar knowledge in general, such as wrapper colours and shapes and sizes. There is also an 'Almanac' section which includes a list of new brands and those that have been discontinued since the last edition, details about 'ancient' brands that are still in production, a list of unusual cigars (with multicoloured wrappers, for example), a list of the smallest and largest cigars available (by length and ring gauge
Ring gauge
A ring gauge, or ring gage, is a cylindrical ring of steel whose inside diameter is finished to gauge tolerance and is used for checking the external diameter of a cylindrical object....
), and more.
Editions
It was first published in 1995 and contained 370 brands. The number of brands covered jumped to 659 in the 1997 edition, then to 1,144 in 1998, and then to an all-time high of 1,448 in 1999. The 15th edition (2009) has the second highest brand total ever and includes information on 1,360 brands (1,209 handmade, 75 machine made and 76 small cigars/cigarillosCigarillo
A cigarillo is a short, narrow cigar. Unlike cigarettes, cigarillos are wrapped not in paper but in whole-leaf tobacco. Cigarillos can be found for purchase alone or in packs, and are often made without filters...
).
Cyclopedia of Havana Cigars
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n cigar
Cigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
brands. It is currently in its third edition (published 2005), but is not published every year(the 2nd edition was in 1998), and also includes information about how cigars are made in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, a history of tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
and Cuban brands, and details on vitolas
Factory name
In Cuban cigar production, the factory name or vitola de galera is a standard name given to the size of the cigar across all manufacturers.Each cigar has a factory name and a model name....
.
Both editions are written by Richard B. Perelman.